


Another World

by badwolfbakerstreet, ShineeFan101amg



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Best Friends, Brother-Sister Relationships, Eventual Relationships, F/M, Family Dynamics, Family Secrets, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Mutants, Sister-Sister Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:39:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2549543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfbakerstreet/pseuds/badwolfbakerstreet, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShineeFan101amg/pseuds/ShineeFan101amg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily is just a normal college student. She studies hard, spends time with her friends, and visits her family as often as she can. All of that changes when she suddenly finds herself in another world, a world where the superheroes, and villains, of the Marvel universe are real. Suddenly Lily finds her whole world falling apart around her as everything she thought she knew is turned on its head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Something is following her.

As she walks back to the dorm from the parking lot down the street, Lilly can feel that something is just not right. For as long as she can remember, she has had strong instincts. It's something she has grown used to relying on because they are seldom wrong, so when her gut starts telling her that something is following her, Lilly starts to run.

She knows she probably looks ridiculous running down the sidewalk for no obvious reason. She knows that anyone watching her would think she was crazy, but she keeps running anyway. Lilly's a good runner, she should be considering she goes for a run nearly every morning, so she's not surprised when the dorm comes into view even though it usually takes her more than five minutes to walk back. She's just starting to let herself relax when something grabs her ankle and trips her, causing her to fall and roll down the hill the sidewalk was paved next to. She takes a few precious moments to try and get her breath back before she sits up and rolls her ankle, wincing at the slight pain the motion causes. Lilly repeats the motion and decides that she probably only twisted it and that it should fine by tomorrow.

From behind the music building she had just passed comes the sound of crunching leaves and a low growling sound. Lilly snaps her head up to look, the ominous feeling from before slamming into her gut. She quickly gets to her feet and tries to get back up to the sidewalk, but her ankle isn't cooperating and when she turns around she sees the shadows of the trees around her start rippling and, as though they were suddenly alive, start reaching for her. Lilly gives a short gasp of surprise and backs up frantically before she hears the growling again, only this time it sounds louder, and amplified, as though there were more than one creature growling, and it's coming from right behind her.

Slowly, Lilly turns around, stifling the urge to scream as she catches sight of the creatures that have been following her. They look like dogs, in a way. Big, black, dogs that looked as though they were made of shadows with glowing red eyes watching her closely.  _There's no way to escape ._ The thought hits Lilly hard and her thoughts drift to her family.  _At least I got to see them again,_ Lilly thinks to herself because she knows without a doubt that these creatures are out for blood-hers-and that there is nothing she can do to stop them. As they move in closer, there's five of them now, and it looks like more are still forming, Lilly curls into herself closing her eyes and moving her hands to cover her face. As she waits for them to pounce, she finds herself thinking of her mom, and suddenly the ground falls out from beneath her and she can hear the creatures growling in rage and frustration as their prey slips away from them.

~~~

 

When Lilly wakes up the first thing that comes to her mind is _this isn't my bed_. Once that thought fully registers, she bolts upright and is immediately hit with a wave of dizziness. Lilly bends her knees and rests her forehead against them as she tries to think through the pounding of her head.

 _Alright, breathe. Just relax._ Once the worst of the dizziness fades, Lilly looks up and takes stock of the room around her. Bed. Chair. Table. Window. Slowly, Lilly swings her legs over the side of the bed so she can look out the window. That’s when she realizes that she’s no longer wearing her own clothes. Instead, she’s wearing a pair of lightweight, dark grey sweatpants and a white, long-sleeved t-shirt with what looks like- _no, it can't be_ -SHIELD’s emblem on the upper left side.

Pushing the matter of her strange new clothing aside for now, Lilly goes back to trying to look out the window. _It looks like a normal city. A really busy, normal city. Actually, it looks an awful lot like New York. But that can't be right. New York is over 400 miles away._

Climbing out of bed, Lilly notices a twinge of pain in her left ankle when she puts weight on it, something that sparks a memory in the back of her mind, but she once again pushes the thought aside as she walks over to the window to get a better look, examining the buildings around her closely. Catching site of the huge electronic billboards in Times Square, Lilly thinks to herself,  _That’s definitely New York, but how did I get here?_

Trying to think back to the last thing she remembered before waking up here, Lilly turns toward the door, favoring her right leg without even thinking about it, to start pacing, something she tends to do whenever she’s really trying to figure something out, only to freeze as Nick Fury walks through the door.

 _I’m dreaming. I have to be dreaming. This can't be real._ As subtly as she can, and without taking her eyes off the director, who had stepped inside in order to close the door, but hadn’t come any closer, Lilly bites the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. _Okay. Maybe I’m not dreaming. Maybe I'm just dead. That’s a cheerful thought. Either way, this is still impossible._

Slowly, obviously trying not to scare her- _too late_ , Fury starts walking toward her with his hands held up in what was probably meant to be a reassuring gesture, but nothing about this man is reassuring to Lilly.

_Alright. Whether or not it’s impossible, I seem to be in a SHIELD base in New York City, and alone in a room with Nick Fury, the Director of said government organization. Now would be a good time to come up with some kind of plan or at least some way to stall until I can figure out what the heck is happening._

With very little time to come up with something, Lilly decides on an old fall-back that she hasn’t used in years, but is mostly sure she can still pull off fairly well-pretending to be deaf.

Fury stops a few feet from where  Lilly is standing, still frozen, and still staring at him, though she has schooled her expression so that it, theoretically, gives nothing away, though she is pretty sure Fury can see at least some of the fear and panic she is feeling.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Fury tells her, still holding his hands up for her to see, “I just want to ask you a few questions. When Lilly doesn't react, the director continues. “What’s your name?” he asks gently. Lilly still doesn't move or reply. Losing some of the gentleness, but still trying to sound non-threatening, Fury says, “Look, I don't want to hurt you or force you to do anything, but I really need you to cooperate. New York is still getting over the Alien Invasion back in July, and a young woman suddenly appearing in the middle of Central Park with her arrival giving off similar readings to that of the Aliens is not helping things, so I'm just going to cut to the chase here. Who are you, and how did you manage to appear out of nowhere in the middle of Central Park?”

_That’s what I want to know._

Once he realizes that she simply isn't going to answer, Fury starts toward her again with a scowl, making Lilly flinch, take a step back, then wince again at the pain that shoots up her leg. She’s signing before she even realizes it, saying ‘I'm sorry. I don’t know. I’m sorry’ among other things, over and over again. Fury, not realizing that she is trying to answer him, continues his advance, backing Lilly into the corner of the room closest to the window.

He’s really scaring her now, and Lilly is thinking about dropping the act and telling him that she really doesn’t know how she got here when the door opens and Deputy Director Hill walks into the room, closing the door behind her. Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, Fury looks over his shoulder at Hill who is motioning for him to come over to wear she’s standing.

With an irritated sigh and one last stern look in Lilly’s direction, Fury walks over to Hill, asking, “What could possibly be so important that you felt the need to disobey orders and interrupt me when I specifically told you to hold everything until I finished, agent?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but it seemed like you were having trouble and I think I know why,” Hill says respectfully, but not sounding the least bit sorry.

“Enlighten me then, Hill,” Fury orders, though it’s obvious that he isn't actually angry.

“I believe she may be deaf, sir,” Hill says.

“You think she may be deaf?” Fury asks doubtfully.

“Yes, sir,” Hill responds. “Earlier, when you were backing her into a corner, literally, she started moving her hands rather frantically. I believe she was actually signing.”

“Signing?” Fury asks, glancing over in Lilly’s direction to find her watching them warily, still standing in the corner and as far from him as she could.

“Yes, sir,” Hill replies and Fury turns his gaze back to her.

“Do you know what she was saying?”

“No, sir. She was moving too quickly, and I don't actually know sign language. I did catch the sign for ‘I’m sorry’ several times, though.”

Fury swears quietly and asks, "who do we have on sight who knows sign language?”

“There’s nobody here right now,” Hill says, pauses, then adds, “but Hawkeye’s in the city right now. He can be here in less than twenty minutes.”

Fury casts another glance in Lilly’s direction, showing that she still hasn't moved at all, and reluctantly agrees. “Fine. Make the call,” he tells Hill before walking out the door.

“Yes, sir,” Hill mutters to herself before turning to Lilly who was still standing in the corner, but was now looking significantly less tense and frightened. Hill takes a step toward her, and Lilly stiffens immediately, making Hill stop and put her hands up, similar to what Fury had done earlier. “It’s alright, I won’t come any closer,” Hill says slowly and gently, “if I talk like this-slowly-can you understand me? Can you read my lips?” Lilly gives a slight nod because she can lip read, even if she doesn't actually need to right now. Hill gives a quiet sigh of relief. “Okay,” she says, “That’s good. I have to leave now, but I'll be back soon. I’m going to call another agent, a friend, who knows sign language, okay?” Again, Lilly nods. Giving her a small, but genuine smile, Hill nods back before she too heads back through the door, shutting it behind her. Lilly doesn't even bother to see if it’s locked, she knows it is.

_Alright. So that went well. Sort of, Okay. Not really, but I'm not dead and they believed me, so there’s that, at least. And now they're bringing Hawkeye to talk to me. Wonderful. That’s just great._

Despite her worry, there’s still a part of Lilly that is filled with excitement and nervousness that has nothing to do with fear. She's going to meet Clint Barton-Hawkeye-and she is beyond excited. With that excitement, came a pang of homesickness, followed by a sudden sadness that her brother wasn't going to be there to meet his favorite superhero.

As she starts to plan what she’s going to say when he gets here, Lily moves to sit on the edge of the bed, facing the window so that she can people watch as she tries to figure out how she’s going to get herself out of this mess.

 


	2. Chapter 2

It’s about a half an hour later when the door to her room opens again. Lilly forces her herself not to react to the sound and not to turn her head to see who it is. Because she is still sitting on her bed and looking out the window, there is no way that she could know that someone had entered the room if she can’t hear.

Whoever opened the door stands in the doorway for a couple minutes before they close the door. Lilly still doesn't turn to look, and, when there is no further noise from that side of the room, she assumes that the person has left rather than try to deal with her, or that they had only come to check up on her.

A few seconds later, however, her assumption is disproved, when someone lightly taps her on the shoulder, making her jump and flinch back and away from the touch, despite its gentleness. Taking a deep breath, Lilly turns her head toward the person who had tapped her shoulder and finds Hill standing over a foot away from her, meaning that the agent must have backed away after startling her, holding her hands up again.

“I’m sorry,” Hill tells her, still speaking slowly, “I didn't mean to startle you.” Lilly nods her head, signing, ‘it’s alright’ before she realizes that Hill won’t understand her. Hill, however, watches her hands closely, and nods when she finishes, _maybe she knows a few signs_ , before continuing. “I brought the friend I mentioned earlier. He wants to talk to you.” Hill says, looking at Lilly expectantly, and it takes her a moment to realize that she’s looking for permission. Lilly makes eye contact and nods slowly.

Hill puts her hand to her ear and turns her head, an earpiece most likely, and opens her mouth to say something when the door to the room opens again. This time Lilly is already facing the door, so she looks over to see the person enter the room and has to work quickly to mask her surprise when it’s Iron Man who walks through the door. He closes the door behind him and walks confidently over to Hill. Lilly tries to keep the confusion she feels from showing.

Judging by Hill’s displeased expression he’s not the person she was expecting either. “Stark. What are you doing? Where’s Agent Barton?”

“He’s outside. I wanted to try something. May I?” Stark asks, already sidestepping Hill and heading toward Lilly.

“Just try not to scare her, alright,” Hill sighs, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her, but not before giving Lilly a reassuring smile. During their conversation Lilly had turned herself fully around so that she was sitting cross-legged on the bed facing Stark as he grabbed the chair from over by the door and dragged it over and set it down a couple feet in front of the bed. Before sitting in it Stark turns it around straddling it backwards with his arms resting on the top of the chair as he studies Lilly.

Lilly studies him in return. He’s wearing a pair of ripped jeans, an AC/DC t-shirt that has more grease stains than clean spots-she has to suppress a smile at that-a pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of sunglasses that he had pushed up onto the top of his head so he could study her as well. She’s not sure what he thinks of her because his expression doesn't change as he looks at her.

“Alright, let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” Stark says, not bothering to speak slowly. Lilly takes a moment to ‘decipher’ what he said before she gives him a nod. “Good. First things first, let’s drop the act, alright? You're good, would probably make a decent actor, and Lord knows we need more of those, but I know you can hear me and I know you can talk, so why don't you stop pretending? It'll make things go a whole lot easier.”

Lilly freezes for a moment, before realizing that she might as well give it up since he had already figured her out. “Alright, Mr. Stark,” she says politely and with the tiniest of smiles because nobody has ever caught her before, but she isn't the least bit surprised that it’s Tony Stark who sees through her act.

Stark grins back at her and says, “That’s much better, isn't it?”

Lilly nods, smiling fully now, and asks, “Out of curiosity, what gave me away?”

“You’re lip reading, it was too good, too fast. And, also, while it was obvious that you were watching Agent Hill’s lips, it didn't look like you were actually concentrating on the task at hand, if you will,” he explains.

“Noted,” Lily replies, then asks, “anything else?”

“You tensed when the door opened. It was subtle and I could tell you were holding back the real reaction, well done for that, by the way, it’s not easy to do, but you still tensed. It was something you'd only notice if you were watching for it,” Stark explains, before adding, “but really, nice work, very convincing.”

“Thanks,” Lilly replies with a grin.

“Who is it?” Stark asks, and when Lilly only gives a confused look, he clarifies, “the person you know, the one who taught you, or who you learned from. It must be someone you're close to, so who is it?”

“My brother,” Lilly answers quietly, then, in a normal voice, continues, “and I didn't learn from him, I learned it for him, well the sign language and the lip reading part, yes, I can actually lip read, the rest of it just sort of happened. He used to like to play tricks on people when we were younger. You know the whole, ‘if we get caught, I'm deaf and you don’t speak English’ thing? Yeah, we got really good at that.”

Laughing, Stark says, “sounds like a fun kinda guy.”

“Yeah, he is. He’s great,” Lilly tells him, laughing as well as she thought about the shenanigans the two of them used to get into.

“What’s his name? How old is he?” Stark asks, leaning forward to rest his chin on his arms.

“Liam. And he’s seventeen,” Lilly answered resting her arms on her legs and leaning her head on her left hand.

“Seventeen, huh? So a younger brother, and a bit of an age difference, there,” Stark muses.

“Not really,” Lilly argues, “It’s only a three year age gap.”

“Only three years?” Stark asks, “That can't be right. That would make you twenty.”

“That’s right,” Lilly tells him, “I'm college junior.”

“Really? Only twenty?” Stark asks, still sounding surprised.

“Yup,” Lilly says, “Why? How old did you think I was?”

“I would've said twenty-four, minimum, but wow. Twenty. Are you sure?” Stark teases.

“Of course I'm sure,” Lilly laughs, “I think I would know how old I am.”

“Think? That sounds a little unsure to me. Maybe you should get that checked out,” Stark continues, chuckling.

At that, Lilly starts laughing, replying through burst of laughter, “I’m completely-of course I know how-you are just _terrible_.”

“I know,” he replies with a grin, which sets Lilly off all over again. He watches her and without really thinking about it says, “you have a really nice laugh. Oh, wait. I just said that outloud. My bad, sorry. I didn't mean to-”

“It’s fine, Mr. Stark, I don't mind. And I like your laugh as well. It’s rather infectious,” Lilly says, cutting him off before he says anything else he doesn’t mean to.

“Thanks?” Stark says with a laugh, “and please, cut the formality. Call me Tony.”

“Alright, Tony,” Lily replies, smiling.

“So,” Tony says, pulling himself together, “you have a seventeen year old brother. Any other siblings?”

"Yes, I have four younger brothers, counting Liam, and two younger sisters," Lily says, enjoying his look of surprise.

"You have  _six_ younger siblings?" Tony asks incredulously, "are your parents insane?"

"Yes, and no. Well, my dad's a little odd. But I think my mom just really liked kids," Lilly replies with a grin.

"'A little odd' she says, 'just really likes kids' she says. You're joking right? You're just lying to cover up for the fact that you're parents are crazy people. I mean really,  _seven kids?_ Who on earth thinks that sounds like a good idea? Crazy people, that's who," Tony says pointing at her.

"Whatever you say, Tony," Lilly says, teasingly.

"You're good. Really good," he tells her, "you catch on quickly."

It takes her a moment to understand what he means, but then she's laughing again, face buried in her hands as she says, "you are just-"

"Terrible?" Tony asks, grinning mischieviously.

"Exactly," Lilly tells him, "you're a fast learner, too." 

Tony laughs outright at that and it takes him a moment to recover. When he does, he points at her and says, "you really are good," then says, "alright, so, siblings."

"Right," Lilly says, and it almost sets the two of them off again.

"Stop that. I'm trying to be serious here," he tells her and when she rolls her eyes at him, he just gives a quiet laugh before continuing, "Okay. Siblings. Names? Ages?"

"Right," Lilly says again, because she just can't help herself, "well there's Liam, then there's Reilly, he's fifteen, and Aedan, he's twelve, then Finbar who's ten and then there are the twins, Aislinn and Alanna, they're eight."

"Twins, of course they're twins," Tony says sarcastically, then asks, "identical or fraternal?"

"Identical," Lilly replies, "and they're little troublemakers the both of them. They switch places in school all the time. Some days nobody notices, but most of the time it ends with an exasperated call from the principal."

"Sounds quite entertaining. You know, I've always wondered what it would be like to have a twin," Tony muses.

"I think it's a good thing you don't have a twin. I don't think the world could handle two of you," Lilly says with a laugh.

"Hey!" Tony objects, but he's laughing, so it's alright. "Alright, so I know your siblings' names, but I still don't know yours."

"Oh, you're right. I never did tell you did I?" Lilly asks.

"No, you didn't, and you still haven't, so what is it?" Tony asks, somewhat sarcastically.

"It's Lilly," she replies, "Lilly Bernier."

"That's, really pretty. It suits you. And your last name, it's...?"

"Thank you. And it's French," Lilly says, "there's strong French roots on my dad's side."

"And your mother?" Tony asks.

"She was Irish, born and raised," Lilly says with a sad smile.

"Was?" Tony questions.

"Yes, she passed away when I was twelve," Lilly clarifies.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tony says, and he is. He's only known this girl for less than an hour, but he already likes her more and feels more connected to her than many people he's known for years.

"It's alright, Tony, but I imagine you should probably start asking the questions you're supposed to be asking me, don't you think?" Lilly asks, still wearing that sad smile, and Tony really doesn't like that smile, but he knows she's right.

"I suppose so," he agrees, "so I guess we'll start with the big one. How did you end up in the middle of Central Park?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Lilly tells him honestly. "The last thing I remember is walking back to my dorm from the parking lot, and then nothing."

"And then you woke up here?" Tony asks.

"Exactly. I somehow went from a small town in Ohio to the middle of New York City in an instant, and I have no idea how."

"Ohio, huh? That's pretty far. It's what-?"

"A little over four hundred miles, yes," Lilly interjects, then hesitates.

Tony notices, and asks, "there's more isn't there?"

"Yes, but, if I tell you, you'll think I'm crazy," Lilly tells him.

Tony snorts and says, "you do realize who you're talking to, right? I'm pretty sure there's nothing you could say that would actually surprise me."

"Alright, you asked for it," Lilly warns him, before continuing, "when I landed in Central Park, I don't think I just jumped states, I think I jumped worlds, because where I come from you don't exist."

"I don't exist?" Tony asks, very confused.

"Well, that's not true. Where I come from you exist, but you're a fictional character. From a comic books series. You all are. Director Fury, Deputy Director Hill. Everyone." Lilly says, watching Tony's face closely.

Tony is careful to school his expression, but what she's told him has shocked him to his core, because he _believes_ her, so he's not sure what expression he's making. "I don't think you're crazy," he says slowly, "but you definitely managed to surprise me."

Lilly smiles a little at that, but it fades quickly. "But you don't believe me," Lily says, and it's not a question.

"I believe you," Tony tells her, willing her to believe him.

"Why?" Lilly asks, "what I'm saying is completely impossible!"

"Lilly, I believe you. I believe you because I'm a firm believer in the idea that nothing is impossible. I kind of have to be, I mean, pretty much everything I am is based on impossibilities." Tony says gently, but also firmly and without any doubt.

"Alright. You believe me and you don't think I'm crazy," Lilly says with a little half smile that Tony is going to count as a win, "now what?"

"That's a good question," Tony muses. "I suppose I'll need to figure out exactly how you wound up here, but first," Tony says, standing up and pushing the chair aside before offering Lilly his hand with a grin, "let's get you out of here."

Lilly takes the offered hand hesitantly, and lets Tony help her off of the bed, trying not to let the the pain she feels from her ankle show on her face, before she asks, "get me out of here? And take me where exactly?"

Apparently she doesn't do a good enough job, because Tony glances down at her ankle and asks, "you alright?" Lilly nods, and he knows she's lying, but it doesn't seem like she's willing to budge. "And to answer your question, I'm taking you back to Stark Tower, of course."

"Oh, of course," Lilly replies sarcastically, and Tony doesn't even try to hide his answering smile.

"Yup. There is no way I'm letting you stay here, so you're coming to live with the rest of us," Tony says as he leads her over to the door.

"Us?" Lilly asks, trailing along and trying not to limp noticeably. She's pretty sure she's failing given the look Tony just shot her over his shoulder, but he doesn't say anything, so she figures it's probably fine.

"Yeah. Us. The Avengers," Tony answers. "Are you ready to go?"

"Um, sure?" Lilly replies.

Tony laughs and says, "good," as he opens the door and pulls her through after him.

 

 

 


End file.
